Saying It Out Loud
by plutonia
Summary: It's graduation day, and Harry decides to express his true feelings towards Ron. NOT SLASH...just a Harry/Ron friendship fic with a MILD hint on H/H. Kinda stupid. Why did I write it, anyway? *sigh* R/R, if you please. Thanks!


  


**Disclaimer:** Don't own nothing, the great J.K. Rowling owns all of them Harry Potter and the gang, don't sue me, you'll get nothing in return, as there's nothing but a hole in my pocket. But the plot of this fic is ® Plutonia.   
  


* * *

Graduation. 

The ceremony was over, and everyone was congratulating everyone else and exchanging farewells. Everyone was walking around, shaking hands with everyone else with trademark speeches of "thanks for everything" and "hope to see you around" and "wishing you all the best" and "hope you fall into a hole and rot" [Harry to Malfoy, or maybe Malfoy to Harry, or Malfoy to Ron, Ron to Malfoy...you take your pick], that sort of thing. 

Trunks and luggage were scattered all over the Gryffindor common room. Everyone was excited to be going home...except Harry. 

He wasn't excited going home, no, not home, he should say, the Dursley house, for the summer. Going home to face little [NOT] Dudleykins and his equally horrible parents? Ugh. 

The truth was, he was going to miss this place a lot. Hogwarts had been his home for seven long years. The happiest times of his life were spent here. After the summer, he was going to work in the Ministry of Magic. There was a job lined up there for him. 

Hermione was also going to be working for the Ministry of Magic, a fairly high-post as well. But what would you expect for a witch who aced her N.E.W.T.S with a score of 225 upon 100? 

As for Ron...he would be heading towards Romania to work with Bill on dragons. He wasn't interested in working for the Ministry of Magic, said he. He was the "out-door" kind of person, and besides, this would really give him a chance to bond with Bill. 

Thinking about Ron made Harry's heart thumped a little. _How to tell him? _He began to feel uneasy. These things were so difficult.

Ron was going to Romania, who knew when they might meet again.

He just wanted to tell Ron how much he meant to him, that was all. Tell Ron that without him, Harry probably wouldn't survived Hogwarts, without Ron, Harry would be _Harry_ today, Ron was one of the things he was most thankful for in his life, and that he would treasure their friendship forever and ever. Ron would always be his best friend. 

Sounded easy enough, right? Nope.

The thing was, he didn't _know _how to begin, or where to begin. It did sound terribly girlish somehow. They were **men.** Harry didn't want to feel like a sissy, nor did he want Ron to feel like a sissy. Ron should know that Harry appreciate him, right?

But sometimes it would be better to show appreciation. Yeah, he would have to tell Ron, truly. 

Ron had always felt unappreciated, having 5 older brothers. He got hand-me-down items every year [except for Pig] and when he befriended Harry, people branded him as "Harry Potter's friend and sidekick" instead of Ron Weasley. Harry wanted to Ron to know that he'd always appreciated Ron and gift of friendship and loyalty. 

What was his speech going to be anyway?

*Put on a big smile* "_Urmmm...Ron, I want you to know that I appreciate your friendship very, very much..." _No, that sounds insincere. Especially the big smile part. 

"_You know how you're my best friend and you'll always be my best friend till the end of time?_" That just sounded plain stupid, to his own ears. 

"_Ron, I love you, man!_" Nope. Probably Ron would reply with a "_That's good to hear, but I don't love you" _or a "_Are you gay, Harry? Cos I'm not, so stay away!_" No, the word "love" shouldn't have to come out. He might take it the wrong way. 

Ah, heck. What was wrong with him, anyway? He was 17 years old, he survived battles with Lord Voldemort, he survived Snape's classes for 7 years without losing his sanity, and yet he couldn't tell his best friend how much he was appreciated? That was really, really loony.

But as said, they were, you know, _guys. Men. Males._ It was going to be very very very hard expressing their true feelings. Arghhhhhhh. He didn't know how to explain it, but he felt uncomfortable. It was hard to say it out loud. Men were supposed to be macho after all. Men don;t say these things out loud. 

_Well, might as well get it over and done with. This is not a death sentence, okay, Harry?_

He walked over to where Ron was packing his stuff into a trunk. 

"Uhhh...Ron?"

"Hey, Harry. It feels great to have graduated, right?" Ron looked up, grinning all over his face. "No more Snape."

"Right. Uhhhh...Ron? I...ahh...I...urmm...I...the truth is, I...hhmm..I..." _Darn you, Harry Potter. It IS NOT that difficult. Say it! Just say it, for crying out loud!_

Ron was waiting patiently, and then he gave up on Harry's stammering. "Out with it, Potter, what are you trying to say?"

"I...ahhhh...I..."

"You like Hermione," Ron guessed.

"No!" Harry immediately denied, but he felt a flush spreading across is face. _Stop blushing, stop blushing, ain't going to help you out here..._

Ron just grinned. "No?" He was about to continue when Ginny's voice broke out. 

"Ron! Something's wrong with my trunk!" 

"Brother's duty calls. Catch you later." Ron hurried off towards his sister. 

Harry sat on his trunk and sighed. Who would've thought saying a lousy thank-you to a friend was going to be that bloody difficult?  


* * *

They were about to board the train. Ron was walking ahead with Hermione, while Harry was dragging his feet behind them. 

_Okay, one, two, three. Say it now, or never say it, ever. Courage, don't fail me now._

"Hey, Ron?"

"I hope you're ready to speak this time."

Harry grinned rather nervously, as he turned to Hermione. "Could you, uh, run along, first, Herms? I gotta talk to Ron about something."

Hermione just shrugged. "Sure. You're acting weird, Harry." With a look, she walked away. 

"So, you really like her?" Ron said with a mischievous smile. 

"For the last time, NO!" _If there's a spell to stop blushing, I'll definitely use it on myself._

"So...what IS it, Harry?" Ron looked slightly impatient, and one couldn't really blame him. 

"Urrrrmm...I just wanna say...thanksforyourfriendship, you'reagreatfriendandIappreciateyoualways." Harry said in a rush. _Whew! Hey, that wasn't so bad. In fact, I felt kinda...good!_

"Pardon me?" Ron's forehead was wrinkled with confusion. "I couldn't quite catch that."

_Aghhhhhh. He didn't hear me? I have to repeat it? Oh, what the heck._

Harry faced Ron squarely and spoke. 

"The truth is, I want you to know that I appreciate you lots, Ron. You've been there for me since the very first day, and I treasure your friendship, and you. You'll always be the best Weasley ever." Harry grinned a little self-consciously. _Okay, he's not shoving me and saying, "that reeks, Potter" nor did he say "that sounds gay, Harry"..._"Urmmm...so..." Harry stuck out his hand. "Thanks for everything, Ron. Friends forever?"

Ron laughed and took his hand. "Couldn't get rid of me even if you tried."

Harry laughed as well. He got that over with, his best friend knew how much he appreciated him without saying he was a wuss/sissy/girly etc etc. _That definitely wasn't bad. What makes it so hard in the first place, anyway?_

Funny. He had forgotten.

Ron grinned and clapped Harry on the back as the two approached the train where an impatient Hermione was tapping her foot.

Harry sneaked a glance at Hermione as he and Ron hopped onto the train. 

_Wonder how I could tell her...that I kinda like her..._

If he had thought telling Ron his true feelings was difficult, this was going to be torture. Harry smiled a little to himself as he leaned back on his seat. 

_There's plenty of time for that. _

**The End  
**

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A/N: Okay, so this is even worse than the first one. *groan* I don't know why I decided to post it, anyway. I kinda get the idea that male friends are generally uncomfortable to express their feelings towards each other compared to females...and thought it might make a good humor/friendship fic...I've never come across a friendship fic for Ron and Harry. *shrug* Who cares if it flopped, anyway. Like I said, I don't know why I wrote it, anyway. Result of boredom extraordinaire.

Oh, and please, please, pretty please read and review my first fic? Here's the URL:  
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=479435

It's also pretty weird, I guess, but I'm a weird girl. For my first fic above, H/H warning. Don't read it AND flame me if you don't like this pairing cos I do. It's strange that my fic didn't show up in the "Just In" Category...which explains why I didn't get much reviews, either that, or I stink. Maybe I should hang up the pen, or in this case, my keyboard. I will pretty much appreciate ALL suggestions and criticisms [criticisms, NOT flames] as I am hoping to improve, improve, improve. 

I was thinking a sequel might apply to both of my fics. Opinions, anyone? I'll scrap if it's a stupid idea. 

Thanks for reading! Cheers!


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